Beirut Observatory, Beirut, Lebanon

Life through a lens...

Accent Design Group unveils plans for a new residential tower in Beirut

This centrally located residential tower takes inspiration from the urban form of Beirut. Situated near the Ring Highway that connects East and West Beirut, and overlooking the city center, Martyrs Square and the seacoast, this residential tower operates as an ‘observatory', composed of a smoothly rising stack of glazed-unit apartments, offering diversity while simultaneously creating a sense of unity. The project resolves the opposite demands of maximising space use based on the plot area, while providing variation in the different apartments.

Cantilevering balconies and terraces take their cue from the typology of the existing urban fabric of Beirut, transferring the previously horizontal spread into a vertical composition, with panoramic views of the city and the sea. Shading louvers protect from the excessive eastern and western exposure while adding privacy and providing an opportunity for a vertical ‘green' screen that acts as a unifying element on the façade. This tower synthesises between the complexity of details and programs, while avoiding the unnecessary display of architectural gymnastics, which have become a cliché of some contemporary works.